United States Patent Publication US 2010/0131513 by Lundberg et al., published May 27, 2010 and titled “Patent Mapping,” is incorporated herein by reference. Lundberg et al. describe a system and method that permit patent mapping. Their method may include maintaining a database of patent portfolios and a database of patents with each patent stored in the database of patents associated with one or more patent portfolios stored in the database of patent portfolios. A search query may be received associated with a first patent portfolio and the first portfolio may be searched as a function of the search query. Search results may be generated that include one or more patent claims associated with the search query. The one or more patent claims may be mapped to a patent concept. They also describe a computer-implemented method that includes maintaining a database of patent portfolios and a database of patents, each patent stored in the database of patents associated with one or more patent portfolios stored in the database of patent portfolios; receiving a search query associated with a first patent portfolio; searching the first portfolio as a function of the search query; generating search results, the search results including one or more patent claims associated with the search query; and mapping the one or more patent claims to a patent concept.
United States Patent Publication US 2006/0036451 was filed Aug. 10, 2004 by Lundberg et al., published Feb. 16, 2006 titled “Patent mapping” and is incorporated herein by reference. In this application, Lundberg et al. describe systems, methods, software, and data structures for patent mapping, storage, and searching. Some such embodiments include mapping patent documents, claims, and claim limitations. Some further embodiments provide for searching a universe of patent documents by patent document, claim, limitation, class, element, or concept.
United States Patent Publication US 2006/0026174 was filed Jul. 27, 2004 by Lundberg et al. published Feb. 2, 2006 titled “Patent mapping” and is incorporated herein by reference. In this application, Lundberg et al. describe systems, methods, software, and data structures for patent mapping, storage, and searching. Some such embodiments include mapping patent documents, claims, and claim limitations. Some further embodiments provide for searching a universe of patent documents by patent document, claim, limitation, class, or element.
United States Patent Publication US 2008/0216013 was filed Aug. 1, 2007 by Lundberg et al. published Sep. 4, 2008 titled “Patent tracking” and is incorporated herein by reference. In this application, Lundberg et al. describe systems and methods for patent and claim tracking Embodiments include tracking changes in claims through amendments, and displaying the claims in a marked-up format for viewing the changes. Other embodiments include recording and displaying references that may have been cited against a patent application and its claims. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
United States Patent Publication US 2003/0033295 filed Jul. 11, 2002 by Adler et al. published Feb. 13, 2003 titled “Method for analyzing and recording innovations” and is incorporated herein by reference. In this application, Adler et al. describe a data processing system having an interface, a query builder connected to the interface for receiving the factual information and for building a search query describing the innovation, a search engine connected to the interface and to the query builder, for selecting a database and accessing this database via a transmission network and for searching the query in the database, a relevancy filter for filtering the search result provided by the search engine, means for comparing the search query with the filtered prior art output by the relevancy filter and a statutory analyzer for analyzing the comparison to form a computer-implemented electronic records system and a data processing system for automatically maintaining an electronic laboratory records system and a corresponding method, and to a computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a computing apparatus or network.
United States Patent Publication US 2010/0063923 was filed Nov. 30, 2009 by Lundberg et al., published Mar. 11, 2010 titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ANNUITY PROCESSING,” and was a national-stage entry from PCT Application PCT/US07/08822 filed Apr. 10, 2007, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. In United States Patent Publication US 2010/0063923, Lundberg et al. describe a system, apparatus, and method for annuity processing. In some embodiments, an annuity processing module is used in conjunction with an internet-based patent- and trademark-application management system. This annuity-processing module reflects a software implementation of various business rules or methods associated with paying the annuity due on a patent. These rules are, in some embodiments, derived from various laws relating to the payment of annuities. In some embodiments, these rules are provided to a workflow engine via a DTD or XML schema. The workflow engine manages the execution of the various business rules and states associated with this execution. These rules, including the decision to make a payment, can be manually executed or automatically executed by a member of an organization implementing the annuity payment module as a part of a larger system. This larger application could, in some embodiments, be an internet-based patent- and trademark-application management system.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/685,759 filed May 27, 2005 and PCT Patent Application PCT/US06/20950 (published as WO2006/128183A2) filed May 30, 2006 by Lundberg titled “Method and Apparatus for Cross-Referencing Important IP Relationships” are all incorporated herein by reference. In these applications Lundberg describes a system and method to provide cross-referencing of important IP relationships. The system includes software executing on a computing platform for displaying relationships between various domains of IP information selected from the group of claims, prosecution history, products, concepts or art.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,205 to Sotomayor issued Oct. 5, 1999 titled “Automatic index creation for a word processor”, and is incorporated herein by reference. Sotomayor described a method and apparatus to enable scanning one or more documents, from within a word-processor program, wherein his disclosure automatically identifies key topics and phrases in a document's text. He also describes inserting identifying tokens for the index-generation program in the word-processor to generate an index to those key topics. One embodiment provides an apparatus and method for automatically identifying semantically important key topics within an integrated word-processor environment. A document is scanned from within a word-processor program, automatically identifies significant key topics in the document, and creates and inserts index tokens for these key topics. One embodiment includes a process running in a word-processor program on a computer which (a) allows an author to select index generation for a document being processed (edited) and then, using a semantic analyzer program running on a computer, (b) automatically identifies significant key topics within the document, (c) generates and embeds index tokens into the text of the document.
What is needed is an improved method and system for automated and assisted patent-claim mapping and expense planning.